The Texas attorney general’s office highlighted two recent legal victories — a pharmaceutical settlement and a court order on county spending — alongside a broader summary of its activity this year
Texas Supreme Court Freezes Harris County Immigrant Legal-Defense Program
The Texas Supreme Court has ordered Harris County to halt a program funding the legal defense of immigrants in federal deportation proceedings while a lawsuit brought by Attorney General Ken Paxton moves forward. According to Paxton’s office, the state sued the county over what it described as more than $1.3 million in taxpayer funds directed toward the program, and the high court has now barred the county from continuing to disburse those funds while the case is litigated. The order is an interim step that pauses the program during litigation; it does not resolve whether the program is lawful. “This is a major win for protecting taxpayer dollars,” Paxton said, commending the court for freezing the program. Harris County has defended such legal-defense funds in the past as serving due-process goals and will have the opportunity to make its case as the litigation continues.
Paxton Secures Nearly $34 Million Settlement With AstraZeneca
The attorney general’s office said it reached a settlement with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals under which the company will pay nearly $34 million to resolve claims tied to an alleged kickback scheme involving Texas Medicaid. According to the office, the state sued under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act, alleging AstraZeneca provided free nursing services and other inducements designed to steer providers toward prescribing its drugs, many paid for by Medicaid. Under the settlement, AstraZeneca will pay $33,998,000 to resolve the state’s claims — without a ruling on the merits, as is typical of such agreements, and such settlements generally do not constitute an admission of wrongdoing. “I will not allow Big Pharma to misuse taxpayer dollars to put profit ahead of Texans’ health,” Paxton said. The office said the settlement builds on similar actions against other drugmakers, including Eli Lilly and Sanofi.
A Look at the Office’s 2026 Activity
In a separate summary, Paxton’s office recapped what it described as its major actions so far in 2026. The office said its work this year has spanned consumer protection, healthcare-fraud enforcement, environmental cases, and child-safety matters, among other areas. Among the items it highlighted: surpassing $3 billion in total opioid-related recoveries for the state, including a settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family; a $1.4 billion settlement with Meta over biometric data and a $1.375 billion settlement with Google over privacy claims; settlements requiring some food makers to remove certain dyes; and a range of investigations and lawsuits involving consumer products, pharmaceutical companies, and online platforms. The office also pointed to its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which it said has recovered more than $1 billion since 2020.
The summary also described numerous actions on contested political and social issues — including immigration enforcement, abortion-related spending, gender-related care for minors, and election and redistricting matters — framed from the office’s perspective. Those characterizations reflect the attorney general’s stated positions, and many of the underlying matters remain the subject of ongoing litigation or public debate.
